Nigel has eyelids, which is unusual for a Muppet whose eyes are on the top of his head; a view from behind (as seen for instance in the Muppet Show end credits) reveals that they are perched on top of his eyes and are not connected to the rest of his body.

In the pilot and in most of his Muppet Show appearances, Nigel was played by Jim Henson, with John Lovelady performing the character a few times. After the first season, he was relegated to non-speaking roles.